Shoulder seasons like spring offer an affordable way to combine better hotel rates and fewer crowds with high-season weather, a canny work-around for any savvy traveler.
We’ve pulled together some of the best places to visit in March, whether you want to make the most of the last gasps of winter in Canada, head to a centuries-old beer festival in Europe, or simply fancy a visual feast of flowers closer to home.
Here are the 10 best places to visit this March.
Saguaro National Park is a fine place to enjoy wide-open spaces.
Photo by MaryGavanPhotos/Shutterstock
1. Tucson, Arizona
March is great for: wandering through the wildflowers.
Southern Arizona in springtime defies the stereotype of arid desert-scapes that are synonymous with the state. Visit in March, and you’ll see the countryside burst into life and color via a profusion of springtime blooms, especially from the middle of the month onward. Californian and Mexican gold poppies carpet the ground, alongside desert bluebells and marigolds, plus pink-purple owl’s clover and scarlet fairy dusters with their distinctive, long pink stamens.
Hike around the Saguaro National Park to see them, or hit the Catalina State Park’s Sutherland Trail for superb poppy-spotting. Watch the weather in the weeks before to see when peak bloom might happen—drier conditions push it toward the end of the month.
Where to stay: JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort & Spa
- Book now: marriott.com
This full-service resort is built into the foothills just west of downtown Tucson, handily next to Saguaro National Park West. It has its own, 27-hole Arnold Palmer-designed golf course, a family-friendly pool complex, and four on-site restaurants.
Insider tip
Check out the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, says the hotel’s concierge Baylee Elizabeth Austin. It’s a zoo, botanical garden, and art gallery spread across 21 acres with two miles of walking trails. “Go before 9:30 a.m., as the animals are more active,” she says.
Enjoy the weather at La Ropa beach at Ixtapa, Zihuatanejo.
Photo by Brester Irina/Shutterstock
2. Zihuatanejo, Mexico
March is great for: fret-full concerts and whale sightings.
Picky about where to go this month? Why not rock up at a jam session or two at the International Guitar Festival in Zihuatanejo, which runs from March 7 to March 14. The event, run for the past two decades by a local nonprofit, celebrates the skills of strummers of all kinds and draws talent from around the world to the beachfront city. Last year’s roster included Mexican-American finger-style superstar Janet Noguera and Tom Waits band alum Omar Torrez. Check for updates on 2026’s lineup via the festival’s website (Noguera’s already confirmed to return).
If you need a break from the wall-to-wall music, rent a charter boat or hop on a tour to see the migrating whales that congregate in the waters around Zihuatanejo until the middle of March. Expect to see humpbacks more than any other species.
Where to stay: Thompson Zihuatanejo
- Book now: hyatt.com
The 56-room boutique hotel, sat on a 1,000-foot-long private beach, has its own beach bar, three outdoor pools (the adults-only option is handily right next to the bar), and an on-site spa, where you can book an open-air treatment or two if the weather cooperates.
Insider tip
Take home some Mexican craftsmanship that reflects the region, suggests Manuel Villalobos, the hotel’s general manager. Look for Taxco silver jewelry, which is renowned across the country, or artisanal pottery and Huichol art. “These are intricate beadwork and yarn paintings created by the Huichol people,” he says. “Items like these offer a glimpse into one of Mexico’s most storied Indigenous traditions.”
Take in the Montreal en Lumière festival from a rooftop.
Photo by Eva Blue/Tourisme Montréal
3. Montreal, Canada
March is great for: giving in to that sweet tooth.
Arrive in early March to catch the dazzling Montreal en Lumière festival, which runs from February 27 until March 7 in 2026 and promises fairground attractions, interactive light installations, and special menus at restaurants across the city. Expect plenty of maple syrup–spiked dishes, as it’s sugaring-off season now—the time when maple trees are tapped to collect sap for syrup.
Canada is the world’s biggest supplier of maple syrup and the bulk of that elixir comes from trees growing in this province. Rustic sugar shacks invite visitors to embrace this rite of spring, throwing folk music–powered festivals amid the forest with family-style feasts of dishes like pea soup and meat pie plus tire sur la neige, taffy made by pouring hot syrup onto snow. Head out into maple country—notably the regions of Montérégie, the Laurentians, and Lanaudière—to find them. One standout is Sucrerie de la Montagne in Montérégie, which has been operating since the late 1970s.
Where to stay: Epik Hotel
- Book now: epikcollection.com
There are just 10 rooms at this charming boutique hotel, housed in a restored building dating back to the 1700s on St Paul Street in the heart of Old Montreal. The hotel’s contemporary design combines clean lines and raw finishes that call out historic details, like timber beam ceilings and stone walls.
Insider tip
Epik Collection vice president Daniel Gallant recommends Le Monarque brasserie in the same neighborhood for classic French food, or the Crew Café, where the interiors reflect its former life as the Royal Bank of Canada. Make sure to try Mon Lapin’s house special, too: the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie restaurant is known for its croque pétoncle: a buttery toast and minced scallop confection akin to a highfalutin’ grilled cheese.
In Buffalo, St. Patrick’s Day is a major celebration.
Photo by Drew Brown/Visit Buffalo
4. Buffalo, New York
March is great for: an alternative Irish celebration.
We’ve already told you to keep an eye on this Upstate New York city, thanks to its renewed emphasis on Black contributions to its history, but if you visit in March, there’s a chance to fête another Buffalo community. The construction of the Erie Canal first drew Irish immigrants here in the 1820s, and their number swelled significantly as a result of the Irish famine two decades later. By the mid-1850s, one in seven Buffalonians was Irish-born. Almost two centuries later, the city retains a strong connection to the home country, so St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are a highlight of the annual calendar. Catch the start of the parade in the Old First Ward, the city’s historic Irish enclave, and check out the various Gaelic pubs there on a crawl between the likes of Adolf’s, which dates back to the 1930s, and the 1960s-opened Gene McCarthy’s.
Where to stay: The Richardson Hotel
- Book now: therichardsonhotelbuffalo.com
This grande dame property, built in the 1880s by the namesake architect Henry Hobson Richardson, is a designated National Historic Landmark; it reopened in its current iteration nine years ago after seven years of conservation. The expansive grounds might have a familiar vibe—they were landscaped by Olmsted & Vaux, the same team behind New York City’s Central Park.
Insider tip
James Burke, general manager at the Richardson Hotel, calls Cole’s on Elmwood Avenue “a true Buffalo institution where you instantly feel like a local.” Don’t leave without trying the Tuscan Egg Rolls, stuffed with chicken and served with a pesto cream dipping sauce.
Fireworks enliven the Lantern Festival in Chiayi, Taiwan.
Photo by Kit Leong/Shutterstock
5. Taiwan
March is great for: a lantern-lighting festival.
The Taiwanese Lantern Festival kicks off on March 3 and runs for 12 days. It’s a spectacular, if modern, celebration, established in 1990 as a nod to the Buddhist tradition of lantern-lighting at New Year and to bolster tourism connected to the island’s folk history. The center of celebrations in 2026 is the city of Chiayi, a short train ride from the capital, with free access to the site where colorful, elaborate tableaux are on display every evening. (This year, look for a Nintendo-sponsored site.)
Don’t miss the chance to catch an early show of cherry blossoms, if the winter weather cooperates: the hillsides of Yangmingshan National Park, adjacent to the capital, are carpeted with pink, including the native Taiwan cherry, in spring.
Where to stay: Capella Taipei
- Book now: capellahotels.com
The barely year old, 86-room luxury hotel, another project from interior designer Andre Fu who is known for his art deco–inflected, minimalist interiors, sits on the upper floors of a soaring skyscraper in Taipei’s Songshan district, handily close to most major sights; it offers super views over the city.
Insider tip
Capella general manager Dennis Laubenstein recommends picking up one of the “8,000 unique card and postcard designs” at Words Studio. “It’s Taiwan’s only dedicated greeting-card store,” he says. “The space also hosts creative sessions where you can sketch or paint alongside local artists. It’s a calming, reflective experience that reveals Taipei’s softer, design-driven side.”
Skiers and snowboarders can admire the views in Oslo Winter Park.
Photo by Dmitry Tkachenko Photo/Shutterstock
6. Norway
March is great for: chasing fresh powder and the northern lights.
Cross-country skiing—or langrenn, as the Norwegians know it—is a national pastime in the Scandinavian country, thanks to the ideal combination of long, snowy winters (expect snow cover from November through April) and vast, rugged landscapes. The sport is easily accessible from Oslo, in the forests in and around the capital, and you can readily combine it with downhill skiing and jumps at the Holmenkollen sports complex. Take a moment to soak up the scenery, too: Norway is renowned for its so-called pastel winters, when soft light creates a magical landscape of pinks, lavenders, and icy blues, especially at “blue hour” around sunrise and sunset, when low sun angles and ice crystals turn the landscape into an IRL Frozen fairy tale. You also have a good chance of seeing the northern lights—the solar maximum this winter makes catching them much more likely than in prior years.
Where to stay: The Thief
- Book now: thethief.com
This modernist landmark overlooks the Oslo fjord—book a suite for the best panoramic views—and anchors Tjuvholmen, a cultural district that includes the neighboring Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, which supplied the artworks throughout the hotel.
Insider tip
Try the løyrom (think of it as the Nordic answer to caviar) at Theatercafeen in Oslo, says Jan Sortland of Norwegian Adventures, a high-end travel specialist in the region. He also recommends taking home “a beautiful, hand-knitted Norwegian sweater” as a souvenir, whether from a traditional label or a funkier contemporary designer like Moods of Norway, which has a shop in the Vestland village of Stryn.
View an active volcano in Montserrat.
Photo by IndustryAndTravel/Shutterstock
7. Montserrat
March is great for: an intriguing St Patrick’s festival.
The welcome stamp in your passport at the tiny airport (painted a natty shade of green) on this British overseas territory is a shamrock. It’s a reminder of the Irish pride here, and indeed, it’s the only place in the world other than Ireland where March 17 is a public holiday (it coincides with a failed slave uprising from 1768).
The first Europeans to arrive on the volcanic Caribbean island were overwhelmingly indentured workers from Ireland, banished by the British from plantations on nearby St. Kitts after one too many rebellions. Today, many locals refer to themselves as Afro-Irish, have Gaelic last names, and can trace their heritage to both Europe and Africa. Celebrations run for 10 days on the island, culminating on March 17, and combine pub crawls, reggae concerts, and street parades. The ragtag parade on the final day is more a rousing street party than a formal procession. Join in by congregating in Salem for the kickoff around 2 p.m.
Where to stay: Tradewinds Montserrat
- Book now: tradewindsmontserrat.com
Skip a hotel and instead book one of the private villas available via this rental firm, which has a wide range of properties across the island. Ask owner Susan Edgecombe for options in Olveston if you want to be within walking (or, let’s face it, politely stumbling) distance of the celebrations.
Insider tip
Explore the lush countryside of this 40-square-mile island with guide James “Scriber” Daley. His nickname came from his school days, when he was considered adept at describing. A renowned expert in Montserrat’s national bird, the oriole, he can guide you along one of the many trails that winds through the island. “To take you out and see you smile, and make you happy—that’s what pleases me,” he says.
Autumn isn’t the only time with a beer festival in Munich.
Photo by engel.ac/Shutterstock
8. Munich, Germany
March is great for: toasting the halfway point to Oktoberfest.
Are you brave enough to tackle Starkbierfest? Starkbier means “strong beer,” and the brews flowing at this Lenten celebration in Munich pack a serious punch, with each one clocking in at a minimum of 7 percent ABV. The rich, malty, and calorific beers have their roots in monastic ingenuity: Bavarian monks first brewed them as liquid sustenance during Lent, when they abstained from solid food.
You don’t need to take a vow to enjoy the brews, but you should brace (and pace) yourself at any Munich beer halls when visiting in March. Most major breweries in the city host celebrations, offering their own riff on the traditional recipe. Look for a name ending in -ator, as many strong beers have this suffix. The historic Paulaner brewery hosts three weeks of rowdy revels, kicking off on March 6.
Where to stay: Charles Hotel
- Book now: roccofortehotels.com
This property in the Rocco Forte empire underwent a major renovation last year, steered by interior designer Olga Polizzi. It’s handily located close to the historic Königsplatz, in Munich’s Lenbachgärten quarter.
Insider tip
Charles Hotel head concierge Lena Speckmeyer always takes chocolates from Dallmayr with her when she visits friends overseas. “They have a box with the typical Bavarian Dachshund, which is Munich’s favorite dog,” she says.
You can see Texas longhorn bulls at the Fort Worth Stock Yards.
Photo by James Kirkikis/Shutterstock
9. Fort Worth, Texas
March is great for: cowboys and bluebonnets.
Cowboy culture has come to pop culture prominence in recent years, thanks to shows like Yellowstone and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. Immerse yourself in modern rodeo in Fort Worth, where its National Cowgirl Museum just completed a major expansion (look for the spangly outfits from singer Miranda Lambert, among other new exhibits).
Year-round rodeos and twice-daily cattle drives put the Texan city on our list of the best places to go in 2026, but there’s another reason you should visit in March. Late in the month, the surrounding countryside explodes into a carpet of bluebonnet blooms, the state flower of Texas. Take a drive an hour or so out of town to the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails—mapped routes can be checked on the trail website—or see urban patches burst into color at Longhorn Park and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Where to stay: The Nobleman
- Book now: thenoblemanhotel.com
This new boutique hotel opened last spring in the artsy, walkable Magnolia Village. An ingenious repurposing of a 1911-built fire station, a local landmark, the building now houses the hotel reception and the on-site restaurant Duchess, which serves dishes such as salt-brined pork belly and brick chicken—fittingly, in an open-flame kitchen. Large, modern rooms are in a purpose-built addition that wraps around the original building.
Insider tip
Austin Cox, who plays with the locally loved Desert Folk Band, recommends the new show about Black photojournalists opening at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art on March 15. “It will shine a light on the groundbreaking work of more than 60 black photographers working across the United States in the world-changing decades between 1945 and the mid-1980s,” says Cox. The museum offers free entry, including to all exhibitions. Free guided tours are available Friday through Sunday, and private tours can be scheduled in advance at no cost.
Colorful houses brighten traditional barrio sur neighborhood.
Photo by DFLC - Multmedia Designer/Shutterstock
10. Montevideo, Uruguay
March is great for: an extra dose of Carnival.
Mardi Gras was last month, and most carnivals have long since concluded. But if you’re not ready to embrace the privations of Lent and still need a jolt of sequin-spangled joy, head to Uruguay. The small South American country continues celebrating well into March because its carnival scheduling doesn’t follow the lunar calendar—it always starts in the third week of January.
Spanning up to 50 days across these three months, the festivities make March an ideal time to visit: Expect not parades but ticketed, open-air shows at the barrios, where multiple groups perform preplanned sets. You’ll also catch the semifinals and finals of the official contest for groups like the murgas (harmonized singing groups), the musical-comedy specialists the parodistas, and stand-up-style humoristas.
Where to stay: Alma Histórica Boutique Hotel
- Book now: almahistoricahotel.com
This property in Ciudad Vieja has a charming conceit: Each of its 15 rooms is themed around Uruguayan cultural figures, whether writer, painter, or tango artist. Standouts include the vampy, campy room inspired by actress Trinidad Guevara and the sky-blue room that nods to both the national flag and the natural history painter Juan Manuel Blanes.
Insider tip
Montevideo’s food scene is refreshingly free of Michelin-chasing restaurants, says Christopher Wilmot-Sitwell of travel company Cazenove + Loyd. He recommends heading to Es Mercat, “the best place to go for seafood fresh from the Atlantic,” and to Bar Arocena for what he calls “a legendary sandwich.” The artery-busting chivito arrives stuffed with steak, mozzarella, ham, bacon, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo, topped with a fried egg.
Related: 10 Places to Go in Spring Without the Peak Season Crowds
